FAQ
FAQ
What does "local ecotype" mean?
Local ecotype describes a plant that has genetically evolved to the soil and climate conditions of a particular area.
Why are local ecotypes important?
Plants grown from seed collected in our area will be better adapted to the local climate than plants of the same species grown from seed collected in, say, Minnesota.
Using local ecotypes also helps preserve genetic diversity. Many of the big native plant seed suppliers are concentrated in the Midwest and Texas. They are doing a great service to native plant preservation as a whole, but local populations often get passed over. When an empty lot or roadside is bulldozed for construction, those genetics are lost forever. Growing and distributing native plants grown from local seed preserves the genetic diversity of a species, and that genetic diversity makes a species more resilient and adaptable.
Where do you source your seeds?
All of our seeds are collected in southeast Louisiana. They come from roadsides and empty lots slated for development, as well as private lands where we have permission to collect.
Note: Some popular garden plants such as Echinaceas and Ratibidas actually don’t occur in this region of the state, so we source those seeds a little further afield to still bring you local-ish genetics and support other growers preserving the local genetics of thier regions.
Do you accept seed donations?
I always appreciate an offer and love to connect with people, so feel free to reach out!
Do know that I'm pretty picky about seed donations. I want to be sure that anything I'm offering as local genetics is truly local. Many well-meaning folks will offer up seed collected from a native plant in their garden thinking that if it’s growing in New Orleans, then it’s local, right? But the parent plant may well have been grown from seed from one of the popular native plant nurseries in Minnesota, Missouri or Texas.
I also want to make sure that any seed being offered has been collected ethically and legally.